Two weeks into the season, the Rockies won a second player of the week award after third baseman Nolan Arenado was named co-winner in the National League with Washington’s Bryce Harper.

Arenado went 9-for-27 over the seven days, including a 4-for-5 day Wednesday with two home runs and a career-high seven RBIs against the Giants. And his two solo home runs Sunday helped lead the Rockies to an impressive 2-0 victory over the Cubs in Chicago.

Arenado is back in a power zone. He is hitting .280 this season with six home runs and a team-high 16 RBIs. This is his third NL player of the week award.

Rockies rookie shortstop Trevor Story leads the National League in both home runs (seven) and strikeouts (20). (Matt York, The Associated Press)

Chicago — Rookie shortstop Trevor Story still leads the National League with seven home runs, entering Sunday’s games. He also leads the NL with 20 strikeouts, eight in his last three games. He’s hitting .292.

But Rockies manager Walt Weiss is not worried, and although he might give the rookie a day off soon, Weiss doesn’t think Story has hit the wall.

“Typically with young players, I’m going to look for spots to protect them, and I will do that with Trevor,” Weiss said. “I still think Trevor is competing really well, and he’s still a dangerous bat at the top of our lineup. That’s why I’ve continued to run him out there.

“He’s been pitched tough by a couple of guys here lately, but I still think he’s competing well in the (batter’s) box.”

Weiss said he “doesn’t want to make too much” of the strikeouts.

“I think he still has a plan and he’s still sticking too it,” he said. “I think that showed up in his last at-bat yesterday.”

After striking out three times against Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta, Story lined a ninth-inning double down the right-field line against Cubs reliever Travis Wood.

Gray watch: Weiss the team has not decided when right-hander Jon Gray will rejoin the rotation. After pitching two rehab games for High-a Modesto, Gray is expected to rejoin the team in Cincinnati Monday, but he’s not yet on the Rockies’ pitching schedule.

“We need to get him here in front of us, and then we will make a decision in the next couple of days,” Weiss said.

Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon is on the 15-day disabled list because of turf toe on his left foot.(Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

Chicago — Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon hopes his 15-day stint on the disabled list will be exactly that — a minimum of 15 days.

Catcher Nick Hundley hopes he doesn’t have to go on the DL at all.

Blackmon was placed on the DL Thursday with an injured left big toe, an injury the Rockies are calling turf toe. He’s had it before — at the beginning of the 2012 season — and he knows the injury can linger if it’s not taken care of properly.

“Based on the history of this injury … we decided the 15-day disabled list was the best course of action,” Blackmon said Friday before the Rockies played the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Blackmon is wearing a walking boot to protect the toe and aid the healing process.

In his absence, Gerardo Parra will get most of the playing time in center field, though utility outfielder Brandon Barnes can also play center.

Hundley took a hard foul ball off his catcher’s mask in Wednesday’s game against the Giants. The Rockies are calling his injury a forehead contusion, but they want to make sure Hundley does not have a concussion. To that end, Hundley worked in the batting cage Friday morning and also ran the bases.

There were no immediate plans to put Hundley on the DL, but that could change if he doesn’t feel right after going through baseball activities.

“We just have to take it day by day right now,” Hundley said, adding that he is still being evaluated to see if he suffered a concussion.

“Hundley is still going through some tests,” manager Walt Weiss said. “We have to make sure he’s OK before we put him back there. As a catcher, that concussion stuff is huge.”

Weiss said the Rockies will make a decision Friday to decide if Hundley will need to go on the DL. As a precaution, catcher Dustin Garneau was called up from Triple-A on Thursday. Tony Wolters starts behind the plate Friday for the second game in a row.

Late-night reflections after the Rockies’ wild 10-6 victory over the Giants at Coors Field Wednesday night:

** Dennis White, a press box attendant for four years at Coors, suggested that I weave the song “Don’t Fence Me In” into my game story. For you millennials out there, it was a popular song written by Cole Porter and popularized by Roy Rogers. (Don’t ask)

I didn’t use Dennis’ suggestion for a couple of reasons. First, I was on a tight deadline and didn’t have time. Second, I already get razzed for loving 66-year-old Bruce Springsteen, so I’m sure as heck not going to reference Roy Rogers.

Rockies veteran left-hander Jorge De La Rosa has pitched poorly in his first two starts of the 2016 season.(Lisa Blumenfeld, Getty Images)

What’s wrong with Jorge De La Rosa?

It’s a fair question, considering the Rockies’ veteran left-hander will enter his Thursday start against the Giants with an 0-1 record and 12.46 ERA after his first two games.

He failed to survive five innings in either one of his first two starts, and he has already issued seven walks and teed up four homers. Plus, his fastball velocity is down a bit. In the first two games, it’s averaged 90.3 mph, vs. 91.4 mph last season and 92.6 for his career.

But Rockies pitching coach Steve Foster sounds unconcerned.

“Velocity is very important,” he said Wednesday before the Rockies hosted the Giants at Coors Field. “It’s also something that we’re used to in April in cold-weather states — cooler nights, it’s not alarming. (But) it’s something that we’ll be keeping an eye on. And he says he’s healthy. He had a good spring.”

De La Rosa is a notoriously slow starter, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding pointed out in an early April story:

In 2013, De La Rosa went 2-3 with a 4.18 ERA in six April starts, but was then lights out, posting ERAs of 2.08, 2.97 and 3.62 over next three months, with a combined record of 8-2.

In 2014, he was 2-3 with a 5.23 ERA in March and April. The year started with a rough Opening Day start, when he gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings in a road loss to the Marlins. He followed with a 4-0 record and a 1.93 ERA in May. He slumped in June, when he was 2-3 with a 7.11 ERA. But he went 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA in July.

De La Rosa’s start to last season was delayed by a groin issue, and he posted an 11.57 ERA in two April starts. But he went 1-1 with a 4.79 ERA in May and 4-1 with a 3.16 ERA in June.

Foster understands that some pitchers are slow to heat up, but he doesn’t want to make too big a deal out of it.

“You really don’t want to put a lot of stock in that because as a coach you don’t want a guy mentally thinking that,” he said. “However, history shows us that some guys are just slow starters and that’s the reality of it.

“It’s not an excuse, though, nor do we ever look it as that. Throughout the history of baseball there have been guys perennially started slower in April. My hope is that ‘De La’ is not one of those guys.”

In his last bullpen session, he threw breaking balls off the mound for the first time. He’ll do that again on Wednesday, and if all goes well, he’ll head back to the club’s spring training facility in Scottsdale, Ariz. next week to slowly expand his throwing program.

There is no timetable for Ottavino’s return. It could be sometime around the All-Star Game in mid-July, but that is a very soft target date.

“I feel good, I’m making progress,” Ottavino said Tuesday before the Rockies hosted the Giants.

Here are some more injury updates:

** Right-handed starter Jon Gray will pitch another rehab assignment for High-A Modesto. He’s scheduled to pitch on Friday, hiking his pitch count up to about 85 pitches, meaning he could pitch six innings.Read more…

Rockies owner Dick Monfort sat in his regular aisle seat behind the home dugout Friday for Colorado’s home-opener. But before the game, during his team’s batting practice, Monfort answered questions about the Rockies new-look lineup, Jose Reyes’ possible suspension, the Troy Tulowitzki trade and rebuilds, and how he might make more changes to Coors Field:

Q. What do you think of this year’s Rockies?

A. It’s a little different. I guess you really don’t know until you get further into it. You hope you don’t have too many injuries. Those always hurt everybody. Unless you’re the Dodgers or maybe the Yankees, if you lose a big player, it really hurts. The lineup looks strong, there aren’t many weak spots in there. The defense should be incredible. We have a great outfield defense, athletic guys. I think they look good. Pitching-wise, that’s always anybody’s guess. But we have strong-arm guys, guys who are working hard. We have a little bit, especially in the bullpen, some veterans mixed in.

Every year we try to win. That doesn’t always happen. But we’re trying to win, so you spend the offseason trying to figure out ways to do that.

Q. Jeff Bridich believes if he can get quality pitching, and some of the offseason moves were in that direction, the outfield fences were raised. Are you on board with that direction? Were there offseason discussions about that? What was your input?

A. Every year it’s been, ‘We need to get to spring training and we need these five guys to be our five starters. That’s who we’re hanging our hat on.’ And if it’s not, then there’s a big drop. But what he’s done over time, he’s brought in (pitchers who), maybe the drop is significant because of youth, but not because of potential or strength or toughness. His goal since he was hire is, we have to get a lot of arms here. And they’re not all going to work out. Last year we drafted three high school kids in the first 45 guys. You go back to any time in the history of the Colorado Rockies and look at how many times we did that. It would be great if all three work out. But if they don’t, and one is incredible, then that’s what you do. Get a bunch of arms in here.

Q. Other teams around baseball take the route of tanking, wanting to lose for awhile knowing that the high draft picks will help them. Is that against your organizational philosophy? Or do you feel it doesn’t work?

A. I don’t know if it works or not. The Cubs or Houston might say it does work. But we’ve always drafted young players. We have a lot of good young players. And usually when you guys talk about a team tanking, it’s usually because they don’t have kids in their farm system and they have to start stocking up. But we feel every year our farm system is getting stronger. I don’t know if it works or doesn’t work.

I’m against losing a game any time. Every time we try to do something, it’s meant to get better — not just now, but also in the future.

Q. In retrospect, with Troy Tulowitzki gone and seeing some of the young pitchrs who came in return, what are your feelings about that trade?

A. It’s still early, isn’t it? One of the kids we got is pitching with us (Miguel Castro) and it’s still early on him. (Jeff) Hoffman, everybody in baseball thinks he’s a talented guy and he’ll be a big-league pitcher. I’ll take everybody’s word for it and say that deal will work out. The fact that Trevor is playing good just helps it. We knew we had these young guys who would eventually play shortstop. You never know, time-wise, when they’ll take that final step.

I miss Tulo. I miss having him. He’s a great talent. He’s a hard-working guy. But in an effort to get a lot of pitching, sometimes you have to make those moves. I love Corey Dickerson. I love the kid we gave up with Corey Dickerson. But we got a couple pieces that we think help us pitcing-wise.

Q. Do you hope this season goes in a way where we’re not asking you this question about Carlos Gonzalez?

A. Yeah I hope you don’t have to ask that question. I hope you’ll be asking me, ‘Hey are you going to get such-and-such?’

Q. With the fences up, was there any talk about bringing the fences in?

A. We never talked about bringing the fences in. An interesting concept, that a fan actually gave to me, since we tore up the field for ice hockey, why not move home plate out? That does the same thing and more. Because now you have more foul territory. But I’ll tell you, once these things are built, they get a life of their own. There are sight lines for people in those seats. In left field, the handicap section happens to be in the front row there and we want to take care of them. A fence there would block them.

But we’re going to continue to find ways to make it not so offensive a park. We all know it’s the most offensive park in baseball. Part of that, there’s nothing we can do about it. But if there are things we can do to take some of the offense away from it, that’s what we should try to do. Other teams, Seattle has a very pitcher-friendly park and they’re trying to make it more offensive. San Diego is doing the same thing. It’s prudent for us to at least look at all of that.

Q. For planning and budget, how difficult is it having the uncertainty with the Jose Reyes situation?

A. We’re paying him. So I really don’t know how to answer that other than we’ll deal with it. We knew when we made the trade – the only reason Toronto gave up those three pitchers was because we took an equal salary back from them. We knew that going in. We knew that was what we were going to deal with. Now, because of the incidents that happened, it makes it a little more difficult. But we’re going to work our way through it.

Q. Have you heard anything from the commissioner about a timetable on Reyes?

A. I did talk to him yesterday. I was in New York and I think they’re getting some information. I think the goal was to have the trial, get the information, do their own analysis of it, and then come down tiwht the decision. Since there wasn’t any trial it makes it a little more difficult. They want to get the information. The No. 1 thing they want to do is be fair. They want to be fair to everybody. That means to all our fans, all of us who have a little bit of a problem with whatever happened. But you’ve got to be fair, and they want to do it right.

Q. Will the public relations aspect to the Reyes decision and the fans reaction to it, will that play a part in what you do with him?

A. I’d like to know exactly what exactly happened. It’s easy for us all to speculate on whatever happened. But until we really know, it’s hard. You’re dealilng with a guy’s life, too. But if he did something wrong, he should pay for it.

Trevor Story on Friday became just the fifth player in baseball history with home runs in the first four games of a season, which ties a major-league record. That record was first set by Willie Mays in 1971. But Story stands alone in the history of the game with his total of six homers in the four games.

So how sustainable is his run? He’s on pace to hit 243 homers this season, so forget about him keeping up that kind of pace. He is a rookie, after all, so he will almost surely slump at some point this season.

But his early-season barrage shows some solid, sustainable promise. He’s doing it from all angles. He homered off Zack Greinke, twice, for starters. But he has homered off lefties and righties; to left, center and right field; off fastballs, curveballs, sliders and changeups; in different counts; and on the road and at home:

“I’ll never talk to him, never talk to those people,” Tulowitzki said, referring to Colorado general manager Jeff Bridich and Monfort. “You get lied to, straight to your face, you get upset. I believe in forgiveness, but at the same time, I don’t plan on being friendly with them, or anything like that.”

Colorado Rockies’ Trevor Story (27) follows through on a two RBI home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in Phoenix. (Matt York, The Associated Press)

It’s the Trevor-ending Story.

The Rockies rookie shortstop made history on Wednesday when he became the first player in major-league history to hit a home run in each of the first three games of his career.

If you’re interested in way-too-early predictions, Story is on pace for 189 home runs and 324 runs batted in this season.

According to Major League Baseball’s stat of the day Twitter, he is just the fifth player to get a home run in the each of the first four games of the season: Willie Mayes (1971), Mark McGwire (1998), Nelson Cruz (2011) and Chris Davis (2013).

Watch him go yard:

Home-run No. 1:
Three-run home run into right field in the third inning off Arizona’s Zack Greinke.

Colorado Rockies’ Trevor Story (27) follows through on a two RBI home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in Phoenix. (Matt York, The Associated Press)

Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes will make more money after four games on paid administrative leave than rookie Trevor Story will make all season.

Divided by 162 games, Reyes makes roughly $135,802.47 per game. After four games, that comes out to $543,209.88, about $35,700 more than Story’s salary — or a little more than the starting MSRP cost of a brand-new BMW 3 series sedan.

Colorado Rockies’ Trevor Story (27) follows through on a two RBI home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in Phoenix. (Matt York, The Associated Press)

Bah gawd, those baseballs had families.

Rockies rookie shortstop Trevor Story blasted his fourth home run of the season Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.

Despite a rocky spring training, Rockies right-hander Jordan Lyles will start Friday’s home opener at Coors Field against the Padres.(Chris Carlson, The Associated Press)

MARINERS 8, ROCKIES 5At Salt River Fields

Scottsdale, Ariz. — For most of the Rockies regulars, Saturday’s Cactus League finale against the Mariners was a throw-away game. The plan: make a cameo appearance, get in a couple of at-bats and then get out with out getting hurt.

Not so for right-hander Jordan Lyles, who has been tabbed to start the regular-season home opener against the Padres on Friday at Coors Field.

Lyles struggled throughout spring training, entering Saturday’s game with a 7.88 ERA and a team-high four homers surrendered in 16 innings. So he needed a solid outing.

What he got was an uneven performance. He allowed one run, three hits and two strikeouts over three innings. That sounds pretty good, but he also walked three, and half of his 30 pitches were outside the strike zone.

“We didn’t give up as many runs, but I did give up three walks, which is not ideal,” said Lyles, who finished the spring with a 7.11 ERA. “I’m going into this season healthy, and that’s exciting. I’m just looking for a healthy season and hoping to contribute to the team.”

His best pitch of the game was a 3-2 sinker he threw to Mariners slugger Robinson Cano to start an inning-ending double play in the first.

HITS
** Nolan Arenado finished his splendid spring by going 1-for-2 with a single. Arenado finished the Cactus League season hitting .542 with six homers and 17 RBIs.

** Ben Paulsen had an RBI double in the second inning and finished the spring hitting .298.

MISSES
** Lefty Chris Rusin, a possible fifth starter once he’s built up his arm, had a bad day. The Mariners lit him up for four runs on three hits and drew two walks in one inning.

** Right-handed reliever Justin Miller, who appears to be a lock to make the team, also struggled. He gave up three runs on two hits and three walks in his inning of work.

UP NEXT
The Rockies finished the Cactus League with a (15-13-4) record. They open the regular season on Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. (7:40 p.m MDT, Root TV, 850-AM radio).

Peoria, Ariz. — The Rockies built some pitching depth behind their starting rotation to begin the season — they’re stashing it in the bullpen.

Christian Bergman and Chris Rusin will begin in Colorado’s bullpen as long relievers. Yohan Flande is likely headed to Triple-A. All three have starter’s experience — and will be available if injuries hit or arms falter.

Two of them pitched back-to-back Friday night. Bergman and Flande tag-teamed to hold the Seattle Mariners scorless through seven innings in the Rockies’ only night game this spring, in front of 8,529 mostly M’s fans.

Bergman threw 53 pitches over three innings, giving up just three hits. Flande followed with four innings on 58 pitches, giving up four hits. Bergman struck out four and walked 1. Flande struck out two and walked one.

Taken together, “Berde” (or “Flanman”) pitched a good start — seven innings, seven hits, no runs, six Ks, two walks.

Has anybody ever considered a piggy-back rotation around here? (Just kidding.)

“I feel strong,” Bergman said. “The first inning was a workout, but it was good to get that in and follow it up with a couple strong innings after.”

Bergman prepared at the end of his spring run by ramping up with a starter’s length. He threw his count into the 70s his last outing. This plan was “to a T what it was last year,” he said.

“I learned last year that having my pitch-count built up in spring, all of a sudden two innings feels really easy,” Bergman said. “And I feel like I can recover faster after that.”

If Flande goes to Triple-A Albuquerque to start the season, he could slip into the rotation for the same reason Bergman got starter’s length at the end of spring — to have him doubly ready for the big leagues, as a starter or long reliever.

“We’ll keep him lengthened out,” Weiss said of Flande. “To what degree, I don’t know. But multiple innings.”

HITS

**First base prospect Correlle Prime started for the Rockies as a designated hitter, batting seventh. His double in the second inning scored Ben Paulsen

**Paulsen was the only Rockies player with multiple hits (2-for-3) against a Seattle set of pitchers led by Wade Miley.

Rockies (15-12-4) play their final Cactus League game at home, facing the Mariners again at Salt River Fields, Saturday, 1:10 MT (Root TV, 850-AM radio). Jordan Lyles will pitch for Colorado against Seattle’s Nathan Karns.

Sox the Fox heads down the tunnel to take a break during a Colorado Sky Sox vs. Memphis Redbirds game on July 5, 2015, at Security Service Field. ( John Leyba, The Denver Post)

The owners of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the former Triple-A affiliate of the Rockies who are now alligned with the Brewers, will meet next week with officials from San Antonio, Texas, including the city’s mayor, about a potential move, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

Mayor Ivy Taylor told the newspaper that he’s working with the Double-A San Antonio Missions on a downtown baseball project to help lure a Triple-A team.

Scottsdale, Ariz. — Miguel Castro, a 21-year-old wunderkind and the Rockies’ tallest player, will be on the opening opening-day roster when the team faces the Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Monday. Weiss told him the news Thursday.

“He had a big smile on his face,” Weiss said.

The Rockies acquired the 6-foot-5 power pitcher as part of the Troy Tulowitzki trade with Toronto last summer. And Castro made his Colorado debut with a late-late season call-up.

But he started spring a week late after a bout of pneumonia and lost 11 pounds pounds, down to 190. He rallied with enough impressive outings to earn a place on the roster.

“I’ve come a long way,” Castro said. “I have to keep working hard.”

GRAY BACK ON THE MOUND

Right-hander Jon Gray, who will start the season on the disabled list with an abdominal strain, threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Thursday. He next will throw a simulated game, then get one rehab start before returning to the Rockies, he said, likely in Albuquerque next week. “I still have a lot of stuff to do,” he said.

FOUR-MAN CYCLE

The Rockies will start the season with a four-man pitching rotation, Weiss confirmed. They will use days off to spell the pitchers until April 14 or 16, when a fifth starter is needed. That fifth starter will be either Gray, if he’s ready, or long-reliever Christian Bergman.

**Left-hander Jason Gurka remains in play for a bullpen job, Weiss said, along with right-hander Scott Oberg. Those two and Brandon Barnes are battling for the final two roster spots.

De La Rosa, the Rockies’ veteran left-hander pegged to start Monday’s regular-season opener at Arizona, gave up four runs on four hit in three innings to Milwaukee. His final spring ERA: 6.10.

Arenado, hitting .566, ripped a two-run homer to left in the sixth inning, scoring Carlos Gonzalez, who had reached on a double. It was Arenado’s sixth homer.

The most disconcerting aspect of De La Rosa’s bad outing were his four walks, including three in the third inning when he walked Ramon Flores to force in a run. At the point, De La Rosa let loose with a scream of frustration.

Asked if he was upset with himself or over home plate umpire Jordan Baker’s strike zone, De La Rosa said, “I don’t want to talk about it. I didn’t pitch very good.”

De La Rosa said he’s healthy, but he knows he didn’t perform well during the Cactus League.

“I wanted to finish stronger than that,” he said. “I walked too many guys and gave up too many base hits.”

Is he ready to open the season?

“Yes,” he replied. “I didn’t have the results I wanted to, but I will work on the things I have to work on to get better.”

Such as?

“Everything,” he said. “I was pitching terrible today. I have to get ready for my next start.”Read more…

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.